Special Snowflake
by derpette-Waffle
Summary: Phil goes out in the snow and Dan helps him warm up. (Unadulterated fluff)


Dan felt like he should be rolling his eyes when he walked into the flat to hear Christmas carols being played rather loudly, but even though it was still November, he couldn't help but find it endearing. It might've had something to do with how he had just come back from shopping for the perfect gifts, or that his boyfriend was just too cute to be annoyed with his enthusiasm for the holiday season. That didn't mean he wouldn't tease him, though.

"Phil, it's still November!" he called up the stairs, adjusting his heavy backpack where all his purchases were –almost all, anyway. He plodded up the stairs as the music suddenly quieted down, and he heard some doors and rustling. Curious, he entered the lounge.

"So I figured we'd save the tree for later, but I wanted to make the house a bit more festive."

Dan bit his lip, holding in a laugh at the excess of tinsel displayed around the lounge and kitchen. Phil was on the floor, cutting open another box of silver shimmering tinsel. He hopped to his feet when Dan came in and hopped over some empty boxes –but, being a klutz, he tripped and fell on top of his boyfriend. Dan managed to grab him, but they both fell over, and he was lucky that the sofa had been behind him. He was sitting –rather comfortably- after the fall, with Phil sprawled awkwardly on top of him. They looked at each other and laughed.

Dan's –he would not call it giggling, but yes, it was- was cut off by a quick peck of Phil's lips on his. "Do you like it?" he asked, still laughing, tongue poking out the side of his smile.

Dan let out another short laugh and patted his boyfriend's side. "It's November," he reminded for maybe the fiftieth time since Halloween.

"Close enough; time to get into the holiday spirit." He ran through a series of twenty-six "Eves," punctuating each with a kiss somewhere to Dan's face, and Dan couldn't bring himself to protest with those sweet lips everywhere.

Once Phil was done running through it, Dan smirked and brushed his boyfriend's fringe out of his eyes. "Festive twit," he grinned, kissing his forehead, letting his lips linger.

"Did you get all your shopping done?" Phil asked, playing with the strap of Dan's backpack, reminding him that he was wearing it.

Dan swatted the hand snaking its way back to the zipper of his bag. "Yes, and don't go searching me. Yours is in there and I'm not giving it to you if you find it first." Phil's gift wasn't in there, but Dan could at least keep him off his trail. "Now you have to go get yours?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go in a min-" He let himself be cut off as the song changed to some upbeat instrumental music. He grinned and hopped up off of Dan, bowing slightly and holding his hand out for his boyfriend to take.

Dan couldn't hold the laugh in this time. "You're serious?" he asked over the music, but the sparkle in Phil's eyes gave him his answer. Sighing halfheartedly, took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up to stand.

They started dancing together, some weird kind of dancing that Phil seemed to think fit the rhythm of the music. Dan followed his lead, laughing the whole time, his head falling against his shoulder as his boyfriend hummed along. "And twirl!" Phil grinned, trying to spin him around.

"No, no!" Dan shouted through his laughter, even as he let himself be spun around, and then dipped. A startled noise came out, but surprisingly, Phil didn't drop him. The song ended and changed to a slower, quieter piece, and Dan stood back up. "Okay, you have to go get your shopping done before it gets dark," he grinned, face red and eyes watery.

"Alright, I'm going." Out of courtesy, Phil turned the music off before heading off to his –and Dan's- room to get dressed.

Dan plopped back down on the couch, pulling his laptop up off the table and got himself settled for the evening. It was late afternoon, and would be dark in a few hours. "Dress warm, it's really cold out!" he called to the bedroom. He didn't get a response, but Phil had to have heard him.

Dan was already deeply engrossed in Tumblr when Phil came out, shouting a "bye" to him and heading out the door before Dan responded.

He noticed he was still fully dressed, in coat and backpack and everything. He hadn't even taken his shoes off. Deciding that wasn't okay, he started to get down to his shirt and boxers. He felt the lump in his jacket pocket and smiled, pulling out the thing inside. He stopped undressing for a minute, dropping back down onto the cushion with the dip in it, rolling the navy blue velvet box over in his hands. He opened it up, soft grin on his lips as he stared down at the simple platinum band. They didn't need fancy. He tucked it away again.

Yes, he reminded himself. This was going to be the perfect Christmas gift.

A few hours later, Dan was multitasking, on the internet and flipping through channels. He passed through the weather channel, where a man in an ugly suit was talking about… the snow? It wasn't snowing, was it? Dan moved over to the window and looked outside. Yes, it was snowing; it was snowing a lot. City lights glowed in the blackness, illuminating fluffy white bits floating from the sky. He looked down to the ground, where the asphalt was already covered in a blanket. And Phil wasn't home yet.

Dan tried to not be bothered over the snowfall. Phil loved snow, and was probably having the time of his life out there right now. And he'd been reminded to dress warm, so even the- what was apparently incredibly low temperatures wouldn't put a damper on it. And just when Dan had managed to convince himself of this, he caught the time. It was nearly eight o'clock. Why was he taking so long?

Just a little worried now, Dan plucked his phone up off the table and noticed he had missed a call –from Phil. He'd left a message. Dan crossed his arms over his chest and brought his knees up as he listened to it.

"Hey Dan, the shops are packed right now so sorry it's taking me a while to get back. It's snowing so I wanted to call to make sure you didn't get worried. Everything's fine, I'll see you tonight. Love you!"

Dan smiled, letting go of the breath he'd been holding. The message was pretty new, so he was safe, at least. Now he didn't need to worry anymore, or go out and look for him. So he resumed mindlessly scrolling through his dashboard.

It was about nine-thirty when the door finally opened. Dan didn't notice at first, unable to hear over the music playing in his ears, but then he caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He immediately tugged his ear buds out and set his laptop aside, eyes following the figure moving down the hallway. He got up and ended up in the open doorway of the bathroom, watching Phil shake snow from his hair. It was actually kind of pretty, the whiteness on the pitch black hair. He could only imagine how it looked out in the falling snow.

Dan laughed, leaning against the door. "Looks like I've got myself a Philcicle."

He heard a sort of strangled sounding laugh, and Phil turned to him. Dan's smile immediately dropped from his face. Phil was paler than usual, with bright red ears and nose, and his lips and eyelids were a sickly bluish purple. He forced a smile that barely reached his eyes. "Got all my shopping done."

Dan noticed then that he was only in a jumper and pair of jeans. Had he gone out in just that? "You didn't dress warm, did you?"

"Huh? I'm fine, Dan, I'm f-fine." He wasn't, he was half frozen, but he wasn't going to let Dan worry over it. He'd been the one to go out in the cold in nothing but a rather festive jumper.

Dan watched him shivering. That alone nearly broke his heart. He moved forward and took both of his hands in his, flinching at how ice cold they were. He ran his palms over his boyfriend's frozen fingers before holding them up to his face, huffing on them, trying to warm them up. "You turnip, you went out in that without a coat on."

"I didn't know it was going to snow…" He was starting to feel really tired and, even in the relative warmth of their flat, the iciness was still settling into his skin. He was still half-covered in snow that he'd yet to brush off, and no sufficient warmth was able to get through. He wanted so badly to just be wrapped up in Dan's warm arms.

Dan wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him out of the bathroom, but Phil was moving slowly, rigid and lethargic. Dan pressed his lips to Phil's forehead: he really was ice cold. He wanted to interrogate him further –why didn't he buy a coat or take a taxi home- but figured that could wait until morning, when his boyfriend was warmer and more alert.

He got him out to the lounge. "Lay down, babe," he told him, watching him sit down and then fall sideways on the sofa. Dan laughed quietly and picked Phil's legs up to let him lay down properly. He stroked his cold damp hair for a moment. "I'll be right back."

Phil nodded and curled in on himself a bit. He just wanted to roll up into a ball and sleep.

Dan left the lounge to get a few things, and returned a few minutes later. Phil was half asleep when he got back, but was woken back up with Dan draped his duvet over him. "Mm, Dan?" He didn't realize how that sounded until he heard Dan laugh. He loved Dan's laugh.

"Just a few more minutes until I'll lie with you. In the meantime, open your mouth."

Phil did so without questioning it, and felt a thermometer tucked under his tongue. It was uncomfortable, but he hardly noticed, and let his mouth fall shut again as Dan left a second time. In his tired mind, he really wished that Dan would stop leaving and just come cuddle. But he tried to make himself believe he was getting warmer under the duvet, which he was incredibly grateful for. He smiled. He was so lucky to have Dan.

Dan was kind of surprised that he was so attentive to Phil when he was sick. He was usually too lazy to take care of anyone –sometimes even himself- but something just made him want to take care of the person he loved so much.

He was making two mugs of hot chocolate, and with the thoughts of caretaking in mind, he started to think about what could potentially be their future together. He hadn't been lying when he'd said he wanted two or three children, and though that probably wouldn't happen for a few years at least, he was going to be taking the first steps toward settling down soon enough. Yeah, he was twenty-two, but he was with the man he loved and would always love, so why put off the inevitable?

He finished making the hot chocolate and added some whipped cream to Phil's mug. When he got them back into the lounge, he found that Phil had fallen asleep again. He smiled and set the mugs down before moving over to his dozing boyfriend, thermometer nearly fallen from his mouth. Dan gently pulled it out: 36-Celsius. It was a little under, but he was warming up now. "Phil, wake up."

Phil stirred in his sleep, but didn't open his eyes. Dan bit the inside of his cheek. He wasn't gonna have Phil sleep on the sofa, but he couldn't carry his dead weight back to bed. He pushed gently at his shoulder through the green and blue covers, and Phil started to wake up this time. "Dan…?"

Dan smiled. "I'm here, babe," he assured, sitting at the edge of the sofa. "Lift your head a bit?"

Phil did so, and Dan scooted closer, resting his hand on the side of Phil's head to get him to lay it on his lap. Dan stroked his hair, fingers twisting through the black strands.

They stayed like that a while, Phil half asleep and Dan petting over his hair. The heat in the flat was acting up, and the air was only getting colder. Dan noticed how Phil was still shivering, the harshness of it slowly increasing. Clearly this wasn't going to be enough; he tried to think of what else they could try.

In a moment he was sure that his boyfriend was really asleep, Dan carefully pried himself away and headed to the bathroom to start running a hot bath. When the tub was just under half full, he headed back out, walking straight over to Phil and nudging him. When his eyes opened, Dan asked, "Can you make it to the bathroom? I have a little surprise waiting."

Phil nodded sleepily and pulled himself from under the warm duvet. He didn't understand why he was still so cold, but he didn't want Dan to notice it. He probably did, but Phil still tried to hide it.

Phil melted into the tub while Dan went off to get some pyjamas. The hot water was already working wonders; he was feeling a hundred times warmer already. He was happy to finally be rid of his cold, wet clothes, which now lay in a small pile across the bathroom. Neither of them had bothered to put them proper in the hamper. He was a bit more alert now, but still incredibly tired. He'd still want to go to sleep afterward.

Dan returned soon with two sets of pyjamas. Phil smiled, knowing exactly where this was headed now. Dan's own smile reflected his as he stripped down. Phil took the time to admire how beautiful he was.

Once he was completely nude, Dan climbed into the bathtub behind Phil, his legs on either side of him, knees bent against his hips, reaching around to pull Phil's back to his chest. Dan loved to be the big spoon.

The tub was still filling up. They decided to let it get up to the brim, and if some splashed out, they'd just dry it up tomorrow. They added some bubble bath, and soon they were lying together in a pool of foam. Phil was playing with it lazily; Dan's hands were still busy gently caressing Phil's torso. He laid his chin on his shoulder. Phil took a handful of suds and booped Dan's nose. Dan scrunched his nose and they both laughed. The odd angle did not at all deter them from sharing sweet sudsy kisses.

Dan wasn't at all surprised when, when their lips needed a brief rest, Phil took the little bit of foam remaining to make himself a Santa Claus beard, or when he then started belting out "Jingle Bells." Dan was really just glad to see the color –whatever he had- returning to his face, and the glow come back to his eyes.

The water went lukewarm, and it was then they decided they should probably get out.

"I look like a fucking raisin!" Dan cried out dramatically, and they both laughed. They dried off together, and got into t-shirts and pyjama bottoms.

Some film was on some TV channel, and they let it play in the background as they cuddled on the sofa. Dan had remade the hot chocolate, as the mugs had gone to waste during their bath. They were sipping at it as they laid in silence. A comfortable silence settled around them until the questions started.

"Do you ever want kids, Dan?"

Dan was taken aback, and nearly choked on his hot chocolate. "Do I what? Want what?"

"Kids, do you want kids? Not now, of course, but some day."

He let out a soft puff. "Um, yeah, I do."

"How many?"

This was unexpected, to say the least. They'd had this sort of conversation before, but never so unprompted. "Two, maybe three, I think."

Phil hummed some acknowledgement. Dan rubbed his arm. "What about you?"

He bit his lip and smiled. "About the same," he mused. Dan smiled and pecked his forehead. "And weddings?"

Dan laughed nervously. Oh god, talking about marriage now? Where was all this coming from? He couldn't have found the ring, could he? No, it was still in his pocket. "How many weddings do I want?" he chuckled.

Phil laughed, too, playfully hitting his arm. "No, I mean… what do you think about them?"

"Like… what kind do I –hypothetically-" (Nice save, Howell) "want?" At Phil's nod, he thought for a minute. "Um… I think a fun, intimate wedding would be nice. And… you?"

"Fun, but probably bigger. When I get married, I'd want a lot of people to share it with."

Dan grinned. "So, big, fun wedding, and a few kids are in your dream future?"

He nodded and buried his face into his boyfriend's chest, feeling sleepy again. "You'll be a great dad," he mumbled, closing his eyes.

Dan smiled down at him and kissed the top of his head, breathing in the sweet smell of his shampoo. He turned off the television and sighed softly. This brief conversation was definitely a confidence boost. Now he didn't have to be quite so painfully worried about popping the question next month. Now, on more than one occasion, they'd talked about their future –not plural, not two separate paths, but one life they'd be living together.

Not too much later, Dan needed to wake his boyfriend up for a third time so that they could get to bed. Phil was much warmer now, which was a great relief, and Dan didn't need to worry over him anymore. Phil was reluctant to wake up and move, but he stood and stumbled tiredly to their bedroom. Dan's bed was only used once in a blue moon.

They had two principal sleeping positions: Dan would be the big spoon, or fall asleep on Phil's chest. It was almost eleven now, and it had been a long day for both of them. Dan assumed his more submissive place, head laying over Phil's heart and arm draped across his waist. They were too tired to kiss goodnight; Phil mumbled it to him instead as he fell asleep. Dan smiled and let himself be lulled to sleep by the steady beating against his ear.

Dan's brain wasn't accustomed to falling asleep so early; and sprung back to attention at about two. His eyes adjusted to the darkness, and he needed to use the toilet. He sat up, stretching a bit before turning back to see his sleeping boyfriend. Dan smiled softly; he was just so gorgeous. He touched his face gently, stroking his cheek with his thumb. A moment later, the discomfort in his bladder became too much, and he had to get up.

He didn't go straight back to bed. He strolled through the flat, pondering everything.

He wondered for a minute if he'd properly ever voiced just how much he loved Phil; he made note to include it somewhere in his proposal. He didn't know yet how it was going to happen. Maybe he'd act as if he'd forgotten to get him something, or he'd lost it, and then bring it up in some romantic moment. Though, really, they didn't have too much romance. Most days, they were just best friends who kissed and had sex; and that was the best kind of relationship Dan could imagine.

He had no doubt that Phil loved him, maybe as much as he loved Phil. He liked to believe that he wouldn't reject the proposal. Even if he did, Dan had no intention of breaking things off. They would still love each other, and Dan would keep the ring, and try again in a few years. As long as Phil would have him, he'd keep trying.

Phil had honestly saved him –more than once- and he knew he'd never be able to repay him for it. From pulling him out of borderline depression, to being so encouraging during his mid-life and existential crises, taking care of him when he was sick to just being a constant in his life, always being there for and loving Dan, putting up with his shit and being someone Dan could both look up to and rely on.

Dan made a physical note to include thanks for all of that in his speech, though the words would never be enough.

He looked over the ring again. A plain, simple band, and that was all they needed. There weren't any complications in their relationship, really –their lives were hectic and tiring sometimes, but they always went through everything together, and had for years. A love like theirs had to be the simplest thing. Dan loved Phil, Phil loved Dan, and that was all there was to it. This simple piece said everything that even the fattest, most obnoxious diamond never could.

He went to his room and slipped it into his Box of Secrets, knowing it would never be found. He smiled again before heading back to the room they shared, back to the sleeping love of his life. Back to his special snowflake.


End file.
